Birthday Shenanigans
by athenasdragon
Summary: I took a good prompt and an unlikely pairing and tried to make it into a serious story. This is the result: Henry forgets his birthday, Abe invites everyone over and they all get drunk and play poker. Shenanigans ensue.


**A/N: **Written for the prompt "Let's get drunk together so I can kiss you and blame it on the vodka," which was found the jo-martinez Tumblr (the pairing is because she also said "Literally if someone doesn't write a Forever fic with this as a prompt I'm going to go to the zoo and throw myself into the lion habitat this needs to be done asap please idec what ship make it hanson/abe for all I care ACTUALLY NO DONT ICK NO SHIT EW" and I took it as a personal challenge). Link to my blog is on my profile.

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**Birthday Shenanigans**

"I'm home!" Henry called, nudging the door to the little shop open with his shoulder. The jingling of the bell subsided into a strange silence. "Abe?" He should still be open at this hour, especially on a Friday. "Where are you?" No answer.

A spasm of concern flashed through him. What if something terrible had happened? What if Adam had kidnapped his son?

_Calm down_, he chided himself. _You have no reason to believe that anything has happened._ Nothing in the shop was out of order, the cash register was neatly closed and locked, and the usual assortment of hats and coats hung behind the counter. He picked his way gingerly towards the back door which led to their shared apartment but still noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

The lights in the dining room, kitchen, and sitting room were off. Henry fumbled at the wall for a moment and flipped the switch with a startlingly loud click.

"Surprise!" a chorus of voices yelled. Henry's eyes widened as he skittered backwards and tripped over a chair. Abe rose from beneath the kitchen table, laughing loudly. Detectives Hanson and Martinez stood from behind the sofa and Lucas appeared in a doorway.

"What on earth is going on?" Henry asked as he picked himself up off the floor. Every surface seemed to be covered in streamers and confetti as though an overly-enthusiastic clown had taken up residence with them.

"It's September 19th!" Abe explained cheerfully as he shuffled over to a cabinet and began pulling out bottles and packages. "Have you forgotten your birthday again?"

"Oh!" He had, but he didn't want to admit it. Fortunately, the 'meal' being set out on the table was plenty distraction. "It's very kind of you to plan something, but…" He trailed off, not wishing to offend.

"What?" his son asked gruffly. "Were you planning on spending the evening alone in that lab again, playing Sherlock with rats?"

"No," Henry said slowly, "I was only going to ask whether you had prepared anything besides cake and vodka."

* * *

Evening staggered tipsily into night. Hanson had broken out a deck of cards and now the five of them sat on the floor, alternately picking at the frosting exoskeletons of their cake and throwing chips—potato chips, for lack of the real thing—onto the table.

"You can't bet any more, Abe," Hanson said a tad too loudly. "You're out of chips."

"I know I can win this hand!" the older man almost yelled over his father's laughter. "Come on!"

"You don't have anything to bet," Hanson said stubbornly.

"Have pity on the man," Jo said, flaunting her own winnings by tossing a handful of chips into her mouth. "There's no way he can win."

Hanson sighed. "Is everyone okay with Abe betting something besides chips?"

Lucas opened his mouth but Abe cut over him before he could protest. "I'll bet a kiss. If I lose, I have to kiss the winner of the hand, and then I'm out."

Jo snickered and the spasmodic, drunken laughter spread through the group. When they were all able to function again a few minutes later, Hanson rolled his eyes and dealt.

Henry folded without looking at his cards. Jo started laughing again but managed to curb it, only to sober and fold a few seconds later. Lucas kept in but his poker face had long ago slid and it was obvious that his hand was sadly lacking.

Abe and Hanson faced off as the room fell into silence. Abe drew another card. Then another. Hanson cleared his throat.

Suddenly the cards had been thrown down on the table… and Hanson had won by a landslide. Lucas slumped disappointedly as Henry and Jo clapped and cheered sarcastically.

Hanson's scowl was deeper than Abe's. "Come on," Jo urged them. "Fair's fair." Henry averted his eyes.

In a swift moment, Abe squeezed his eyes shut and leaned in to press his lips against Hanson's. When they were separated there was a moment of startled silence in the room.

Jo burst into peals of delighted laughter and Lucas curled up against the sofa with tears streaming down his face. Henry alternated between nervous laughter and drunken, surprised silence.

Hanson turned a deep shade of purple and muttered something. Henry cleared his throat. "I'm sorry Detective, I didn't catch that."

"Wasn't that bad," Hanson mumbled, sending everyone into fresh laughter.


End file.
